The Hatchling
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Amber is paired up with Desmond for another project, and this time they have to work together to ensure the life of another.


The Hatchling

Summary: Amber is paired up with Desmond for another project, and this time they have to work together to ensure the life of another.

A/N: So if you're familiar with "Hey Arnold!" you may remember an episode called "Egg Story." I was definitely inspired by this episode, so you may see some resemblance in some sections. However, be assured this is still going to be very much unique to this show. :)

"Oh, Desmond!" Amber called sweetly as she traipsed down the steps of the school, catching up with the other blonde as he paused to wait for her.

He smiled shyly. "Hi, Amber," Desmond greeted pleasantly. "Did you, um…bring…the…egg?"

The princess smiled cunningly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Call her what she is, Desmond… She's our baby."

"What?!" He laughed nervously and started blushing. "A-Amber, it's just an egg!"

"Yes, perhaps _now_ she's just an egg, dear Desmond. But later she will be a beautiful little bird…which Sofia will probably start talking to, like she does with all the other animals around the kingdom."

"Huh?" The prince blinked in confusion.

"Oh, never mind. Anyway, I've named our daughter." She held up a brown basket that was lined with a deep purple fabric. Atop said fabric was a little white egg, covered by a small golden blanket.

The poor boy's face grew redder by the minute. "D-D-D…"

"Her name is Rosalind. Rosalind Evangeline. Isn't that pretty?"

"Yeah, actually," Desmond relented with a small laugh. "Very pretty…"

Amber, caught off guard by his affirmative reaction, smiled shyly. "If I had a real daughter of my own…I've thought about using those names…" She cleared her throat and fluffed her hair out as she saw Desmond smiling fondly at her. "Anyway, come along. Daddy said you could visit the castle, and of course since we're supposed to work on this together over the weekend, James said you can stay in his room if you'd like." She waved a hand around. "He said something about he got Baileywick to find a carriage-shaped bed for visitors? I don't know."

Desmond shook his head. "Knowing James, that doesn't surprise me…"

At the castle, James, Zandar, Sofia, and Vivian were each gathered in the kitchen as they discussed their plans for their eggs.

"So, Sofia," James began with a grin. "What are we going to call our egg?"

Sofia blinked and shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know, James. I hadn't really thought about it. Ms. Flora said to decide first if the pretend baby is supposed to be a boy or a girl."

"I think it looks more like a boy," the blonde prince said proudly. "Maybe we can name it…James Junior!"

Vivian smiled. "Maybe in that case, you can call him Jimmy."

James frowned. "Why would I call my egg-son Jimmy? It doesn't even sound like 'Jimmy' came from 'James' in the first place." He then grinned. "Now, I may settle for 'His Royal Junior Highness James' or something like that."

Sofia laughed nervously and held up a hand to stop him. "How about Martin?"

James paused before grinning. "I like it."

"Martin?" Zandar interjected with a raised eyebrow. "Where did that name come from?"

The princess shrugged. "I like that name… It's sweet and simple, but it's traditional too."

"Not very royal though," Amber stated as she and Desmond walked over, carrying their egg in the well-decorated basket. "I'd expect nothing less, dear sister."

Sofia smiled and rolled her eyes. "I see you and Desmond have your egg all prepared."

Desmond looked at her pleadingly. "Please…don't refer to our 'daughter' as an 'egg.'"

Vivian snorted a little before laughing lightly. "Your…daughter?"

Zandar nudged her playfully. "Hey, Vivian… Maybe we should get our 'son' his own basket."

Amber sighed. "Tsk, tsk, I should figure _some_ would jest about this project. Now, you two should realize this is preparing us for the future. Why, Vivian, you may very well end up marrying Zandar and having your own children.'

Vivian blushed as Zandar stared at her in surprise. "Wha-? Amber, what are you talking-?"

"And if you're married with children, you must treat them like mini human beings and care for them as well as you would like to be cared for," Amber concluded with a content smile on her face.

Desmond peered from behind her. "She's taking this project _very_ seriously," he informed them with a sigh.

"I can see that," James laughed. "Zandar, what did you and Vivian decide to name your egg?"

Zandar shook his head from the momentary shock and laughed. "Oh, um…Xavier."

Sofia smiled as she picked up the egg she shared with James. "I like it! Very nice and regal."

The six students turned as Baileywick entered the kitchen, looking rather perplexed.

"Children," he began in slight confusion, "why are you all gathered in here?"

"We're naming our babies," James replied. "Sofia and I had a son!"

"What?!" the older man asked in astonishment.

Amber rolled her eyes. "What James meant to say is that we have a project for school, and we've each been paired with someone to complete a project on caring for an egg."

"Oh…" The steward sighed in relief. "I was going to say… How in the world would I have explained that to your parents?" Seeing the confused looks on the students' faces, Baileywick cleared his throat and shook his head. "N-Never mind. We need the kitchen to prepare for dinner, so could you all possibly relocate, please?"

"Sure," Sofia declared happily as she led her friends away. "We can go to James's room."

"Why my room?" he asked in wonder.

"Because my room is being cleaned at the moment, and there's no way Amber would let us all into hers."

The blonde girl smirked as she handed the basket to Desmond. "You're right about that, Sofia." She glanced toward the prince and smiled softly. "Hold her gently," she instructed delicately.

"R-Right…"

James and Sofia exchanged glances before smiling secretively. It appeared their sister and friend were indeed growing closer.

In James's room, the students put their eggs in places within eyesight while they decided to play some games for a while. They'd been working quite hard these last few weeks of school, so they felt the need to enjoy themselves for once.

As night fell, James told Zandar and Desmond that they could stay in his room, while Sofia volunteered to host the girls. Even Amber agreed, which made Sofia slightly wary since the _last_ time she'd volunteered a sleepover, she'd stolen the amulet. But since she didn't recall such an incident, Sofia hoped everything would be all right.

"Well, good night," Desmond said to the girls as he smiled. "It's been fun."

Amber's eyes narrowed slightly as she smiled. "Mm, it has…" She picked up the basket with their egg before gasping.

The young prince raised his eyebrows in worry. "Amber, what is it?"

Everyone gathered around Amber as she sat on the floor and watched the egg starting to crack. Within minutes, a baby bird had made its way through the egg shell and was chirping quietly and looking around. "Our baby has been born!" the princess announced to the group. "Our darling little Rosalind Evangeline has made her way into the world." She smiled fondly.

"That is the fuzziest 'baby' I've ever seen," James laughed, earning a glare from his twin. "I guess she took after you, Amber." He flinched back with a grin as she swiped at him.

Desmond sought to break the tension and placed one hand gently on Amber's raised one to calm her down. He blushed lightly as she cast her gaze to him. "C-Can I…hold her?" he asked uncertainly.

"All right…but be careful." She lifted the little bird into her hands gently before placing the little one into Desmond's hands. "Support her head."

Vivian laughed. "This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life," she mumbled to Sofia.

The young princess smiled. "What? Amber and Desmond treating the baby bird like their own baby?"

"No… Amber actually being really _nice_."

Sofia just giggled softly as she looked at her sister and friend, who both smiled shyly at each other before looking away. The younger princess smiled and tilted her head slightly. "I think we're going to see that side of her more often."

The end


End file.
